under gravel filter for fresh water?

[benji-star]

I have seen some disparaging comments about the under gravel filter. And this gives me some cause for concern due to the fact that I currently have one running in my tank. I was wondering if i should take it out or is it fine in there it just is not going to help clean much...etc....
any input welcome

keep?
toss?

 

[hashbaz]

This topic seems to surface occasionally and I think the general consensus was that they are fine but other filters are better. If you already have one in there, I don't think that many people would suggest removing it.

 

[Mofo2713]

Don't mess with something that is not broken....

 

[rubysoho]

maybe start vacuuming underneath the UGF once a month... this is the main problem with them because so much gunk gets trapped under there.

 

[mattrox]

I found it hard to keep plants alive with UG filters. Not anything fancy, mostly crypts. as I liked them (and stayed alive with low light and no CO2). I had better success with just air driven box filters for years.

However I had no problems with fish being sick because of them. Cleaning under the is a really, really good idea.

 

[benji-star]

THanks for the input i am running the ugf with a hang on as well so i guess i should be fine just thought i would ask
thanks a ton

 

[shawmutt]

Cleaning under the is a really, really good idea.

How exactly does one clean under the filters without disrupting the gunk under there and causing a mess? The only reason I ask is that when I removed mine there was a ton of crap under there and as soon as I moved them around they made a mess. I couldn't imagine trying to press them back down either--as soon as I lifted the panel a bunch of gravel poured underneath.

 

[benji-star]

i was actually wondering how one would be expected to vacuum under there due to that fact that it is two inchs undergravel. You would practical have to take your tank apart and put it back together again.

humpty dumpty as it were

 

[Mofo2713]

you could stick a small siphon hose down the return tube or you could move all the gravel from one corner and lift it up slowly and stick the siphon hose under there.